Hegyko, Hungary

One of the goals of the trip was to visit Mrs. Szigethy’s new lace exhibit and to introduce the Mad Tatter to Mrs. Szigethy. Goal achieved!

On Wednesday last week we traveled to Hegyko. It’s about a 20 minute drive from where we were staying in Tadten.

This is a new location for Mrs. Szigethy’s display. They purchased an old home in this village and completely renovated it. It’s located right next to the church in Hegyko.







When you enter the house, the first room on the left is set up as a bedroom.














We passed through a room that was once the kitchen in this old home. The next room included more information about the lace and how it is made. The bottom photo in this section talks about the different filling stitches used to fill the round circles of the doily.













The room in the back of the house is filled with a lifetime’s worth of needlework. It’s really quite amazing to see! Each piece is exquisitely made! One more beautiful than the next.


























We’ll continue our visit tomorrow!

This Morning’s Breakfast ...

... isn’t quite the same.



I’ll be back in a day or two withe the rest of our trip report.

Sankt Andrä am Zicksee

Today we were in Sankt Andrä visiting with more family members. The two girls in this family were both in the U.S. last year and spent some time with us in Minnesota. We will spend more time with this family tomorrow.

On our way to dinner we stopped at a home in Sankt Andrä where some monks are establishing an Eastern Orthodox Monastery. They hope to build a permanent monastery within the next year or so. The monk that we met with was very kind and told us a little bit about the Eastern Orthodox religion. These two pictures are from their chapel.













Tonight’s dinner was at a Heuriger (kind of like a tavern) and we had a typical Burgenländische evening meal. Bread, cheese, assorted meats, some vegetables. Und Schmalz mit Grammeln (lard with crispy bits).







We have really enjoyed some delicious food on this trip!

Essen und Trinken

Each day we are busier and busier so I have had less time to post to this blog. Will have to write some “catch up”posts when we get home. Look next week for more on our visits to Hegyko and Sopron and the party with all the relatives.

Today, I thought I would share some food pictures with you.

One night for supper we had Eier Nockerln. These are like spätzeles with scrambled eggs.


At the Zwickl Gasthaus in Tadten we had Wienerschnitzel mit Kartoffel Salat, Cabbage Salat, und Pommes Frittes. The Wienerschnitzel schmeckt sehr gut!


Wutzzi Nudeln - my mother remembers her mother making these. These are noodles that are browned with bread crumbs.


Krapferl - my mother and her sisters used to make these for every wedding shower in our family. My wedding shower was probably the last time they made them. The dough is dropped in oil and then you sprinkle powdered sugar on them.


Gesottene Strudel (boiled strudel). - the dough is filled with a dried cottage cheese. The sauce is made with sour cream and peas, although it’s usually served with a bean sauce or tomato sauce.



Gulaschsuppe in Sopron



Mohnstrudel - poppyseed kuchen, purchased at the local grocery store!




Today we had Balasen, like an apple fritter.



And always lots of wine!

Zwei Alte Damen

Yesterday, will be one of the most memorable days of our trip. We traveled to Hungary to visit with Mrs. Szigethy and her daughter. I had not seen Mrs. Szigethy’s new lace exhibit in Hegyko and my mother had never met Mrs. Szigethy.

I will post more about the exhibit when I return home (lots of pictures), but let me share a couple photos with you now. We spent approximately 1.5 hours with Mrs. Szigethy in her home. It was so good to see her again. Despite the language barrier we were able to communicate via our mutual love of needle arts.

My mother showed Mrs. Szigethy how to tat...




And Mrs. Szigethy showed my mother how the Hövej lace is made.




Each has worked on her respective craft her entire life. Mrs. Szigethy learned how to make the lace when she was 10 years old; my mother learned how to tat when she was 13.

It was a great day. Today is going to be another great day!

Illmitz and Hungary

It rarely rains in Burgenland, but today it is raining! Have I told you how much I love the breakfasts here in Austria? Especially the Apricot jam.







After breakfast we took a drive to Illmitz. Our first stop was at the Illmitz Zicksee (lake). This lake is almost completely dried up; it looks like there is snow on the ground but it is really salt.






This area is National Park and many people come to this area to view birds.






After this brief stop we continued on to the Neusiedler See. This is the largest lake in the area. It is a very shallow lake.











Not very scenic today; cloudy and rainy.

In the afternoon we drove to Sopron. We had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant in the center of the old city.

These shops and apartments are quite nice.







This is part of the wall that went around the old city.





I found a nice shop and purchased a few gifts. Before heading back home we stopped at a Hungarian supermarket to purchase some Paprika and Saffron.

The bakery at the supermarket had some Grammel biscuits for sale. My mom remembered when her mother used to make grammel when rendering lard. The grammel are the crisp bits that remain. Our snack this afternoon is Mohnstrudel and Grammel biscuits.







That’s all for today!

Day Two

We slept in this morning after two long days of traveling. Breakfast is included at the guest house we are staying at and it’s a typical Austrian breakfast. Bread and rolls with Apricot preserves and an assortment of meats and cheeses. The cheese in the middle of the plate is made from sheep’s milk and is made in the village by one of our cousins.







After breakfast we visited the cousin who owns a greenhouse. They are a major supplier of tomatoes for all of Austria. The Mad Tatter wants to get a job here!







We traveled to Frauenkirchen and visited the Basilica. My grandmother and her family used to walk (make a pilgrimage) from Tadten to Frauenkirchen (about 7 miles) praying along the way.










I have this fascination with old cemeteries and one cemetery that I’m always drawn to is the Jewish cemetery in Frauenkirchen. Many Jews lived in this area prior to WWII. The cemetery is closed to protect and preserve it, but you can see much of it over the wall that is built around it.






And then we went to the grocery store to pick up some seasoning packets for Gulasch Suppe. Look what we found...Mohnstrudel (Poppyseed Strudel).




My mother also wanted some of these little packets to make Grieß Knödel (its kind of like a farina dumpling).




We even had Grieß Knödel soup for lunch!




Off to Pamhagen where you can purchase various types of noodles made by hand and fresh eggs.









And now we are resting up. The Mad Tatter is taking a nap! More later!

Our First Day in Burgenland

Martin and Ilse picked us up at the airport as scheduled. It’s a short drive back to Tadten (45 minutes). We made a stop in Mönchof to say hello to some family of a friend of my mother’s. The Koller family in Mönchof runs a guest house.







We then continued to Tadten where Anna was waiting for us. We had schnitzel, rice, potatoe salad and quince for supper. In true Burgenland fashion we ended the evening with wine and dessert!













Bis Morgen!

Almost There!

She tatted from Minneapolis to Detroit...




Our flight from Munich was perfect. We were upgraded to the front cabin, which meant that we would have lots of room to stretch and rest on lie flat seats. The Mad Tatter couldn’t believe it when the Purser handed her a menu for dinner!




Now we are in Munich, waiting to depart on the last leg of our trip. And she’s tatting again!




I understand that it’s the church festival day in Tadten. We might be closing out today at the festival!